People & Events

'Inside Canberra' provides a service of important information relating to appointments (both in the Federal government and private sector), events and government service announcements and Australian diplomatic appointments. This information is not regularly reported by the mass media.

    Appointments - Federal Government
  • Brigadier William Douglas Rolfe (ret), with a background in administrative and military law, has been appointed a part-time member of the Administrative Review Council. [19.10.07]
  • Professor Nadja Alexander has been appointed to the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory Council. [19.10.07]
  • Steve Karas has been appointed a part-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. He previously worked in the Attorney-General’s Department and was for many years in private practice. [05.10.07]
  • Justice Berna Collier, of the Federal court, has been appointed a part-time member of the Law Reform Commission. [05.10.07]
  • The NSW deputy public defender, Christopher Craige, is to replace the retiring Damian Bugg as Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. [24.08.07]
  • Professor Chris Baggoley has been appointed acting chief executive of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare. The Commission will recruit a new CEO following the retirement of Dr Diana Horvath. [03.08.07]
  • Four new Federal Magistrates have been appointed by Attorney-General Philip Ruddock: Paul Howard, Dale Kemp, Dr Warwick Neville and Denys Simpson. [03.08.07]
  • Andrew Phelan has been appointed Principal Registrar of the High Court. He is currently executive director, Infrastructure and Corporate Services with the Australian Crime Commission. [27.07.07].
  • Ms Olya Booyar has been appointed deputy director of the Classification Board. She was formerly with SBS. [27.07.07]
  • Ms Deirdre O’Donnell has been appointed Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman replacing John Pinnock who served for 12 years. [01.06.07]
  • Glenn Simpson has been appointed chair of the Council for Australian/Arab Relations, succeeding Pru Goward [01.06.07]
  • John Paterson (formerly with Goldman Sachs JB Were), has been appointed to the Future Fund Board of Guardians. [19.01.07]
  • Bruce Quigley has been appointed as Second Commissioner of Taxation. This followed the appointment of Michael D’Ascenzo as Commissioner of Taxation. [19.01.07]
  • John Emerson (formerly with Freehills) has been appointed to the Board of Taxation for a two year term. Eric Mayne and Curt Rendall have been reappointed for three year terms. Ms Jane Schwager’s term has ended. [19.01.07]
    [TOP]

    Appointments - Private Sector
  • Neil Ray, chairman of the Gull group, has been elected as the first chairman of the Biofuels Association of Australia (BAA). All participants in the biofuels market in Australia are represented by BAA which is meeting the challenge of bringing higher quality ethanol and biodiesel fuels to consumers. [10.08.07]
  • Ralph Hillman has been appointed Executive Director of the Australian Coal Association, succeeding Mark O’Neil who has resigned after seven years. Hillman is a former Ambassador for the Environment and to the OECD, head of the Trade Development Division of DFAT and government relations at the Export Finance Corporation. [27.07.07]
  • Cath Sullivan is The Australian Workers Union new national media officer. She is the principal point of contact for AWU media inquiries, including those involving AWU national secretary, Bill Shorten. Mobile 0448 025 042. E-mail cath.sullivan@awu.net.au. [25.01.07]
  • Ms Robin Banks has been appointed to the Privacy Advisory Committee as a part-time member for three years. She is CEO of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. [19.01.07]
  • Phil Bowen, Deputy Secretary in the Department of Finance and Administration, has been appointed a director of the Asian Development Bank. [19.01.07]
  • David Crawford (of Westralia Airports Corporation) has been appointed President of the National Competition Council. Dr Douglas McTaggart, Ms Virginia Hickey and Rodney Sims have been reappointed as Councillors. [19.01.07]
    [TOP]

    Appointments - Diplomatic
  • Penny Williams has been appointed High Commissioner to Malaysia, replacing James Wise. Williams is currently a First Assistant Secretary in DFAT. [02.02.07]
  • Dr Alan Thomas (now Ambassador to China) has been appointed Ambassador to the European community. [19.01.07]
  • Michael Potts (recently High Commissioner in Port Moresby) has been appointed Ambassador for People Smuggling. [19.01.07]
  • James Batley (most recently special coordinator to Solomon Islands) has been appointed High Commissioner to Fiji. [19.01.07]
    [TOP]

    Events
  • The Fair Pay Commission will be taking submissions on the review of pay and classification scales and the review of junior and training wages from 26 September to 14 December this year. An issues paper on both will be available from 26 September. Submissions on the next minimum wage case open 7 December, and close 14 March with a decision announced in July. [17.08.07]
  • Food Standards Australia New Zealand invites comment on proposed changes to the Aust/NZ Food Standards Code. Among the changes being contemplated are the deletion of two antibiotics from the Code, the use of steviol glycosides and cyclamates as sugar substitutes, a generically modified corn variety and a food additive for wine. Surf www.foodstandards.gov.au. [15.06.07]
  • Board of Taxation Chair, Dick Warburton, has released a discussion paper on reforms to foreign source income anti-tax-deferral regimes. Surf www.taxboard.gov.au. [01.06.07]
  • Revenue Minister, Peter Dutton, has announced new regulations to implement a number of Simplified Superannuation reforms. The regs provide new and simplified minimum standards for pensions. The standards, he claims, will provide maximum flexibility and choice for individuals while maintaining the integrity of pension rules. A copy of the regs can be found on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments - www.comlaw.gov.au. [05.04.07]
  • The House of Reps Economic Committee has launched an inquiry into the CSIRO engagement with manufacturing industry, including applied research for industry problem-solving. Contact Secretariat (02)6277 4587. [23.03.07]
  • The Defence Department has released a report on the outcome of the North West Shelf unmanned aerial system trial. Northrop Grumman conducted a simulation exercise using a virtual Global Hawke. Contact Jimmy Hafesjee 0404 042 457. [23.03.07]
  • The Australian Fair Pay Commission has a new on-line form for those wanting to make submissions on the minimum wage. Surf www.fairpay.gov.au. [09.03.07]
  • Nominations for the 2007 Prime Minister’s awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships have opened. Nominations close 27 April. Surf www.partnerships.gov.au. [09.03.07]
  • The Wheat Export Authority (WEA) has a new website: www.wea.gov.au. It will soon give information on services agreements between AWB Ltd and AWB (International); the wheat industry benchmark and remuneration and the out-performance incentives. [02.02.07]
  • A new guide for consumers, Know how to complain, has been issued by the ACCC. The guide sets out the main rights and protections that consumers have under the Trade Practices Act. Surf www.accc.gov.au. [19.01.07]
  • The WorkChoices Employer Advisor Program has been extended to December 2007. Surf www.workchoices.gov.au. A panel of advisors will be established to continue the service until December. Service providers who wish to tender for the work surf www.tenders.gov.au. [19.01.07]
    [TOP]